In hard times, consumers like to drown their sorrows with higher quality beer, according to the world's second-biggest brewer, SABmiller. The London-listed brewer has benefited from this trend to report pre-tax profits up 12 % for the six months to September. In the UK, volumes were 5% higher, driven mainly by its premium-market beer Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Overall, the UK beer market declined during the half.

"Despite tough economic times, people still want to treat themselves, and it's far easier to buy a nice drink than, say, a new car," said a spokesperson for the group.

The shares in SABMiller jumped more than 6%, valuing the group at about £44bn.

But despite the summer's European football championships in Poland and Ukraine, pre-tax profits in Europe were down. In Poland SABMiller cut prices.

In December last year the firm bought the Australian group Foster's for £7.5bn. This acquisition and higher profits in India and China – where SAB owns a 50% stake in China's most popular beer, Snow – boosted pre-tax profits by 265% in the Asia-Pacific region.

Overall, the maker of Grolsch, Miller and Pilsner Urquell reported that profit rose to £1bn, compared with £880m a year earlier, also helped by SABMiller's dominance in its biggest market, Latin America, where it controls almost the whole market in Colombia and Peru. Company sales worldwide were up 11% to $17.5bn (£11bn).

SABMiller's outlook remains cautious. The company, whose roots are in South Africa, said the gains from acquisitions and mergers seen in the first half could be reduced next year. But the company said the potential of the principal emerging markets in which it operates remained strong. The beer industry has recently undergone a major consolidation. Besides SABMiller's acquisition of Foster's, Heineken won full control of the maker of Tiger beer in a £4bn deal in September.